Someone To Hold On To
by elementzeros
Summary: Clayton Carmine has lost two brothers to the war and the likelihood of the rest of his family making out of the war is slim to none. Luckily, he managed to hold on to just one more person. ClayxOC. First Gears fic. One-shot. All criticism accepted!


**Hello Gears and Bacon fans alike! This is usually short compared to most of my work... but regardless I liked it enough to publish this thought bubble of mine. This one-shot was just a random thought one day after class let out and the song (that I no longer remember) just happened to inspire a cute little idea. It's very unlikely that this being the Gears verse that anything is 'cute', but it's nice to add some liveliness to a situation. :)**

**Regardless of how you may see this additional character, at least share some feedback on the story overall. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gears of War 1, 2, or 3. The saga belongs to Epic Games.**

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><p>The sight that beseeched many fellow gears out over the shore side had many either rolling their eyes or agreeing to one another that it was about time as both, Lieutenant Anya Stroud and Sergeant Marcus Fenix, had a moment looking over the sun setting ocean.<p>

The fortunate Carmine brother had only looked on at an angle with his helmet still placed on his head for a brief moment, before looking onward to fellow squad mates that had been cheering for Adam Fenix's latest success. (Bless Delta Squad too, of course.)

He had to choke back laughter at a certain cocky, smart assed, mechanic who failed to sway the south islander, Samantha Byrne. Then there was Jace Stratton, who had his own small victory lapse with many other nameless gears.

"Hey baby, what's got you so quiet?" Charismatic Cole, huddled his way to Clay, eyebrows raised, hinted with some bits of amusement, "I don't see you as pumped that this shit's all over, when it seemed you were done with them ugly ass locusts the minute the shit hit the fan."

Clay wasn't so sure on whether or not to answer as a short time went on, as it seemed there was more that the former Thrashball Star had wanted to say. Flexing his arms, Clayton had looked over to his tattoo in remembrance of his two brothers who were lost in the war.

"Ah, I don't know. Guess I'm still delusional or something." Hey, yeah, that was a good bluff considering he almost went down with the Raven that dealt a nasty blow from Queen Myrrah's, Temptress. Not to mention, he had his COG issued helmet on to cover up his face.

"Yeah, how about I get you some bacon? I'm sure Sam would agree this time around to get traded up with some Stranded." Cole joked.

Clayton only scoffed and came out with an equally sarcastic response, pointing a gloved finger in Baird's direction, "Not if he has anything to say about it, then again... Bacon does seem like a great way to celebrate."

"Hey, asshole. I'm right here!" Damon yelled. His goggles slipped from his forehead and fell on the bridge of his nose, causing any other onlookers to join in a small cheer of laughter.

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><p>"Hey, what's going on over there?" Jace exclaimed. Many heads turned in the same direction to see civilians turning the corner from where Clay guessed were civilian camps. Who knew the COG already rounded civis on the island? Clay thought.<p>

"I wonder where Pops is." Jace muttered, and made his way passed many COG Soldiers. Soon after, many others then broke away from the rest to look on the regular population to seek any who they might have any relations to.

Clay had a gut feeling and for moments, his mind had conversed over small facts to whether or not they might have made it through.

Faith was a short thing that many who held throughout the war had lost from the start, but with how Clay was raised, his optimism had him thinking otherwise and he finally followed his gut feeling.

"I'll be right back." Cole, Baird, and Sam, gave him perplexed looks as they watched him depart. As Clay left, he could hear Baird mutter out, 'Who could he have between the civs?'.

Clay being the level- headed person that he was, ignored it and tried to keep his confidence as his bulking form overlooked many of the civilians that were passing by to join fellow Gears on the beach. His brown eyes observed many of the faces of the passerby's. With each face, he saw someone that mistakenly looked like her, and the gut feeling began to burn as he was time and time again trumped by false pretenses.

His former squad mates made their way to his sides and looked about with Clay. All Clayton could hear were blurred mumurs between hit squad mates to grab his attention but blood rushed in his ears and the thumping of his heartbeat tuned them out.

Where is she? Where is she? He called in his head, over and over again. Clayton gulped as the crowd began to thin and he forced himself not to hang his head as to show others his disappointment.

What felt like hours, he still looked pleadingly at the corner, hoping her platinum hair would shine out through the contrast of the sun and her sea- green eyes would smile at him with the same glee her own lips would back when everything was okay.

A train wrecked into the wall in which all the negative thoughts swelled, as he finally found her turning the corner. Her hair had hung mid- back in length and just as he remembered, the blonde strands shined. She tugged a few hairs behind her left ear as she looked about. When her eyes meet his helmet, that's when everything stopped and all hesitancy ended.

He took a brave step forward and her shocked, but happy, features wracked his form and caused him to laugh out and open his arms out exuberantly.

Even from a distance, he could hear her cheerful laughter as she dropped her items and ran to the hulking gear with arms just as wide. As distance closed, she readied herself and threw her light form at Clayton Carmine. Her legs wrapped around his sturdy armored waist and her hands worked quickly to remove the clasp behind his helmet to free his slightly curled, brown hair from its prison.

Baird, Cole, and Sam, all gasped and stared wide eyed at the duo as the female who was snug in front of Carmine was quick to plant her lips on his.

Her hands clawed at the back of his neck as she gasped in between kisses. They both were smiling while their lips mashed in an appropriate manner that masked all the longing that lingered from the absence. His strong arms cradled her, with large hands supported on either side of her thighs, crossed.

What seemed like forever, she broke away from the flabbergasted, but content, Carmine and she met her forehead with his.

"Oh Clay, Clay," Small tears trailed down her distinct cheekbones. "You're okay." She choked before exclaiming loudly and happily. "You're okay!"

"Oh course! Don't you know who you're talking to?" They both laughed at the light humor. Her blonde hair splayed over her back and his shoulders, as she leaned in to hug her solider around his neck. Taking a deep breath, she whispered sweet nothings into his ear in a way of comfort.

Each word that read in Clayton's mind had him grinning like a Cheshire cat. The both of them laughed and felt relieved that neither being was disappointed with their strange reunion.

"I'm surprised you could tell it was me." Clayton said.

"Well, you weren't ever particularly a fan of grubs, so your choice of..." She backed away from him for a moment to dance her slim fingers on his armored chest plate, "Graffiti," Another laugh resonated between the two before she continued, "Kind of spoke Clayton Carmine to me. Plus, you're mine. What other reason is there?"

She batted dark eyelashes at him before he had let her down on the ground. Almost immediately, she joined his side; her small hand clasped in his large ones with a bright smile on her face that brought out the natural rosy color in her cheeks. Clay hadn't needed to respond to her, as she already knew her answer as the two walked their way down the beach to collect her neglected belongings.

Along the way, he had cherished whatever higher being still existed that kept his thoughts in check to keep him optimistic. He might've lost his family and many friends, but somehow, there was someone else to hold on to.

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><p>"Ah, look how cute that is Baird. Why don't you fancy me like that?" taunted Cole with pounds of whipped sarcasm on top.<p>

Baird huffed and retorted, "I don't think I could carry you around, buttercup."

Sam made her way to his side and looped a tanned arm though his, "Yeah, how 'bout me, sugarplum?"

They all laughed lightly as Baird closed the case.

"Hey, I am _not_ a sugarplum."

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><p><strong>Well, that's the end of it, I think I'm pretty bad at Cole and Baird's dialog, but then again, it's my first try at writing out a Gears fic.<strong>  
><strong>The random female is nameless and there is no backstory to how they might have met. Although, if you come up with something, don't hesitate to tell me!<strong>  
><strong>Feel free to praise, bash, whatever.<strong>  
><strong>By the way, if anyone would like to support, please follow me on Twitter to support my Gears of War 3 MLG, I've barely started with it all, but my Coach is going to start sponsoring me so with time and effort, I'll be a bit more known around the Gears community, so follow P3LadyChaos!<strong>

**Thanks for reading! R&R.**


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